Every November, for National Adoption Awareness Month, Voice for Adoption (VFA) hosts a signature project called the Adoptive Family Portrait Project. Each year we celebrate families who have adopted children from foster care. The primary goal of the project is to raise awareness among members of Congress about the real experiences and needs of families that have adopted children who were in the foster care system.

For Members of Congress:

This November, Voice for Adoption (VFA) is providing an opportunity for members of Congress to celebrate the ways that adoption has touched the lives of their constituents. We invite you to participate in VFA's annual Adoptive Family Portrait Project, please click here to learn how to be involved.

Ways to Be Involved:

Identify an adoptive family to feature—VFA is looking for foster care adoptive families whose family portraits will be displayed in the Washington, DC office of their member of Congress. VFA will also ask for family’s adoption experiences in order to share an adoption story with members of Congress. VFA will match Senators and Representatives with a family from their home state or home district (for Representatives). Each participating family will receive a copy of our Adoptive Family Portrait Project booklet that features the families and Members of Congress that are involved. Click here to learn more about the role of participating families.

Encourage your members of Congress to participate—Please contact your Senators and Representatives to encourage them to be part of the Adoptive Family Portrait Project. Hearing from constituents will make it more likely that members of Congress will participate. Click here for a sample template for e-mailing your member of Congress about the project.

Sponsor our project—VFA has sponsorship opportunities for every budget, making it possible for individuals and organizations to provide financial support for this project. All sponsors will be acknowledged in the program booklet, and higher-level sponsors receive additional benefits, including featured recognition at the Capitol Hill reception. Contact VFA for a detailed list of sponsorship opportunities or click here.

12TH ANNUAL ADOPTIVE FAMILY PORTRAIT PROJECT

A Message from the Executive Director

“Families Who Inspire” is the theme for Voice for Adoption’s 12th annual Adoptive Family Portrait Project, which marks National Adoption Month each November. This is a special year for Voice for Adoption, as we celebrate 20 years of being the voice for children who have been adopted from care and those who are still waiting for their family. Over the years, we have seen significant policy changes that will improve the lives of children in foster care and adoption; there is still so much work to do.

According to the most recent data, the number of youth in foster care is on the rise. About 428,000 children are in care, a 3.4 percent increase from last year. There has been a similar increase in the number of youth waiting to be adopted. In 2015 more than 112,000 children in care were waiting to find a permanent, loving family, up from 108,000 children in 2014.

This means, more than ever, the work Voice for Adoption is doing in Washington, D.C. is vital. Each one of the 112,000 children matters — their lives matter, their futures matter, and their wellbeing matters. To make a difference in these areas, we need to acknowledge and reflect on the fact that permanency matters. We know that children do better in permanent adoptive families, not in the foster care system or group home setting. Children who are adopted from care have far better outcomes than young people who age out of the foster care system with no family at all.

Every family highlighted in the Voice for Adoption Portrait Project understands the importance of a permanent, loving family firsthand. They know as well as anyone that dealing with trauma that many youth in foster care have experienced is not easy, but it can be done. They have found —and show us— that love and compassion are far stronger than any darkness in the world. Each family featured here is countering the darkness and building a brighter future for children by opening their hearts and homes.

As you read their stories, I hope you too are inspired — inspired by the families’ smiles, their triumphant stories, and the diversity of adoptive families from across the country. If you too become inspired, I encourage you to become involved. You can donate to an organization making a difference for waiting and adopted children, volunteer to help children in foster care, or even consider expanding your own family. Do what you can, at any level you can. Every little bit helps because there are so many children that need as much as we can give.

Last year, more 53,000 children were adopted from U.S. foster care, and that is something to celebrate! Voice for Adoption is proud to present the 12th annual Adoptive Family Portrait Project and invites you to celebrate with us. In a world that sometimes feels full of negativity and frustrations, take a moment to read these stories — and discover a family that inspires you!

With gratitude,

Schylar Baber, Executive Director

Participating Members

We wish to thank the following honorable members of Congress who are participating in our 2016 Adoptive Family Portrait Project. These legislators are helping to highlight the importance of finding permanent families for children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted.